GAPO’S OPLAN SUMVAC 2012

OLONGAPO CITY-Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr. recently commended the OPLAN SUMVAC  ( Operation Plan Summer Vacation) 2012 team.

“We are very proud of our OPLAN SUMVAC volunteers. Holy Week in Olongapo was peaceful because of their efforts to safeguard the lives of residents and tourists in the city,” said Mayor Gordon.

Likewise, the operation also earned appreciation from the private sector. “Napalaking tulong ng mga volunteers ng OPLAN SUMVAC, simula sa mga  pulis na lifeguard pa. Nandiyan din at nakaantabay yung mga BPATs at Red Cross,” said El Molina Resort Manager Anthony Aquino.

Aquino also explained that, “although dito sa amin, meron kaming  lifeguards on duty, sa dami kasi ng tao, hindi mo lahat mababantayan kaya napakalaking  tulong ng Oplan SUMVAC Volunteers especially sa mga resort.” “Very visible sila na nagpapatrolya sa beach areas at nag-aassist pati sa traffic situation,” he added.

At the OPLAN SUMVAC’s post evaluation meeting, Incident Commander Angie Layug assessed that this year’s success can be attributed to the first-time implementation of the Incident Command System or ICS.

Layug explained that “through the ICS, volunteers from various government and non-government organizations responded to more or less 30 incidents from April 2-9, 2012.”

“Masasabi natin na smooth ang naging operation ng OPLAN SUMVAC kasama na rito yung pagresponde sa hostage taking na nagyari nung April 3,” said Layug.

“At the time of the hostage taking, I transferred my authority as the incident commander to City Police Director Christopher Tambungan and we would like to commend the police force for a  job well done,” said Layug adding that “the SWAT team was able to recover the hostage and hostage-taker without firing a single bullet.”

According to Layug, most of the cases OPLAN SUMVAC volunteers responded to were vehicular accidents, medical emergencies and to people needing various medical assistance.

Volunteers also responded to a fire incident and to a reported oil spill along the Parola area.

Moreover, there were also cases of missing children along the Barretto beach areas who were also found by the volunteers.

Significantly, there is no casualty in drowning this year and water-related incidents were fewer.

It can be recalled that a week before the long vacation, Layug called in a meeting of beach and resort owners in Olongapo to discuss Mayor Gordon’s directive to promote the city as a drown-free zone.

The 2012 OPLAN SUMVAC Incident Command Team was composed of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), Olongapo City Police Office , PNP Maritime, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Mayor’s Office, Accounting Office, Public Affairs Office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, Engineering Office, Public Utilities Department, Environmental Sanitation and Management Office, James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital and of various Barangay Peacekeeping and Action Teams (BPATs).

On the other hand, the Philippine National Red Cross-Olongapo Chapter and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital also led the volunteers in providing emergency medical assistance.

Layug also recognized the invaluable support of radio groups such as Kabalikat , Ulo ng Apo, Radyo Gapo, UNA, Deltacom, Sneaky and Maharlika to OPLAN SUMVAC.

“Napakahalaga ng partipasyon ng radio groups sa communication natin sa operation dahil mas mabilis na nairereport ang mga emergencies sa mga responders,” said Layug. Olongapo City was the first to implement the Incident Command System plan. Although, according to Layug, “it will take a lot of studying and practice to perfect the system but Olongapo City will strive to get there.”